How to animate a dragon

Phillipsburg's Amy Taylor can still remember the life-changing thrill of seeing "Titanic" for the first time.

Home on Christmas break from Syracuse University where she was studying computer graphics, Taylor went to the Regal Cinemas in Pohatcong to catch a movie and came away with plans for a new career.

"I was amazed by the scope and the technology and how beautiful it looked," recalls Taylor. "I had to figure out how they did it. I went home and watched an HBO special about 'Titanic' over and over again. I just couldn't believe how the [computer generated images] were blended in so seamlessly and beautifully. Immediately, I thought, 'That's what I want to do!' "

Taylor abandoned plans to become a Web designer and, a year after graduating from Syracuse, moved to Hollywood to break into the movies.

"I didn't even think about how tough it might be," she says. "That's how naive I was. I told my folks [pharmacist Dan and housewife Pat Taylor] to give me three weeks to make it and then I'd come home."

Taylor made it. Now 33, she has been working in the movie biz for more than a decade, lending her skill to such features as "The Polar Express," "Beowulf," " Kung Fu Panda," "Madagascar 2" and " Monsters vs. Aliens."

For her latest movie -- DreamWorks' 3-D extravaganza "How to Train Your Dragon" -- Taylor worked as a character-effects artist, helping animate the story of Viking underdog Hiccup (Jay Baruchel).

Based on a popular book by Cressida Cowell, the cartoon centers on a clan of Vikings led by Hiccup's ferocious father Stoick the Vast ( Gerard Butler).

In hopes of proving to his Dad and his gal pal Astrid ( America Ferrera) that he's as tough as the other kids, Hiccup sets out to slay a dragon but winds up only slicing the tail of a fire-breather named Toothless.In no time, Hiccup befriends the beast and promises to try and make things right. Since hanging out with dragons is against the Viking code, Hiccup has to pretend to hunt the creatures by day while rigging an artificial tail for Toothless by night.

Like most animators, Taylor takes clues from the film's voice cast. After listening to how an actor interprets a role, she figures out the character's motivation, which helps guide her designs for hair and clothes.

"Our department sits in between animation and lighting so when the characters have been animated, [the shots] go to us and we add hair, cloth and any props animation," she explains.

"When two characters interact or a character interacts with a table or a chair, we also animate those interactions."

In hopes of distinguishing "How to Train Your Dragon" from countless other cartoons, DreamWorks made the novel decision to hire "No County For Old Men" cinematographer Roger Deakins to add a live-action feel.

About halfway through production, DreamWorks also replaced the original creative team with Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois ("Lilo & Stitch"), directors who promised to give "Dragon" a grander, more epic punch.

For Taylor, who makes sure every lock of hair and fabric fold is in place, the flying sequences were particularly problematic.

"We had to go in and add wind dynamics to Hiccup's hair so it would look like he's in motion," says Taylor, who also added "ground contact" to the Toothless scenes so it would appear as if the creature was weightier than most of the other characters.

For one sequence, Hiccup gets an unexpected backwards ride on Toothless' back. After the beast discovers he can fly again, he takes off, with Hiccup hanging on for dear life. It was a simple moment that caused Taylor weeks of mind-twisting work.

Before designing the shot, Taylor looked at countless YouTube videos of people bungee jumping and riding an amusement park ride called the Catapault to figure out how to make Hiccup's hair look authentic as he was being whipped around by Toothless.

"I kind of figured out that the hair needed to be blowing in a certain direction, but because he's in silhouette it also has to flow in a way to make his face look nice ÃÂÃÂ I worked on that for months but now we have this nice little moment."

Taylor is a connoisseur of nice little moments. She made Po's belly jiggle and sleeves wobble in "Kung Fu Panda" and added realism to the crowd scenes in "Monsters vs. Aliens."

"I always say my job is to put pants on Pandas," notes Taylor. "It's the best job in the world. It's ridiculous that I get paid for it. It's so much fun."

Born in Korea and adopted by the Taylors when she was 6 months old, Amy credits a Pohatcong Township Elementary School instructor named Fran Ludwig with sparking her love of the arts.

"In fifth grade, we had to make something out of heavy foil and I drew this tree," says Taylor. "Mrs. Ludwig said, 'This is amazing!' I remember thinking, 'Thank God, I'm good at something!' I was really proud of myself. It was a big moment for me."

From then on, Taylor began to think of herself as an artist and took every art class she could at Phillipsburg High School. When teacher Robert Jiorle screened the 3-D animation film "Mind's Eye," Taylor was mesmerized by the possibilities of computer graphics.

After studying computer graphics at Syracuse, Taylor headed to Hollywood where she landed a job with "Access Hollywood" simply by cold-calling the producers and complimenting them on the show's on-screen graphics.

From there, Taylor moved on to House of Moves, a L.A. special-effects company where she worked on a test shoot for the first " Spider-Man." A few years later, she went to work for Sony Pictures, then in the process of expanding its animation department.

With "The Polar Express," "Monster House" and "Beowulf" under her belt, Taylor relocated to DreamWorks, where she's worked for the last three years.

For her next project, Taylor is making Po's belly jiggle once again in "Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom," which finds Po ( Jack Black) on a search for his real-life parents. New to the film, which is set for a 2011 release, is Gary Oldman, who voices an evil peacock hellbent on world domination.

"It feels the same as the original but the setups are a bit different," says Taylor. "The garments are more complex, the story feels richer and the level of detail is absolutely beautiful. From what I've seen, I think it's going to be awesome."